ICC pauses decision on Duterte’s request for temporary release
MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has paused its decision on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s request for interim release, giving his legal team more time to provide important information.
The ICC’s decision on Wednesday, July 23, means the court will hold off on deciding whether to grant Duterte temporary freedom while his defense gathers more evidence.
"Accordingly, and to ensure that a decision on the Interim Release Request is appropriately informed, the Majority considers it appropriate, in the circumstances, to defer the issuance of its decision on the interim release request until further action is undertaken by the defense on the matter, or until when the Chamber will deem it appropriate," the decision read.
The chamber’s three judges unanimously agreed to the suspension, although Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera, one of the judges Duterte wants removed, expressed a partial dissent.
Procedural history. Duterte’s camp filed a request for interim release on June 12, citing humanitarian grounds due to his age of 80. The motion was opposed by the prosecution on June 23 and by the Office of Public Counsel for Victims on June 25.
The Prosecution objected to the Defense’s request for leave to reply on June 30, submitting both confidential and public versions, followed by the OPCV’s opposition on July 1, 2025.
Meanwhile, the Registry transmitted “observations from relevant states” on July 3 and 11, in accordance with the chamber’s June 18 order.
On July 14, the defense filed an urgent request for the chamber to suspend adjudication on the interim release matter, seeking more time to gather supporting information and to order or encourage unspecified procedures.
However, the prosecution strongly opposed this suspension request on July 17, asserting that the defence should not be allowed to delay the adjudication due to its premature urgent filing.
Charges against Duterte. The charges against the former president are crimes against humanity, which involve at least 43 cases of killings attributed to the Davao Death Squad and police actions during his presidency.
These incidents reportedly occurred between Nov. 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019.
The former president’s controversial anti-drug campaign resulted in a government-reported death toll of 6,000.
However, human rights groups estimate the figure could be as high as 30,000, with many victims being small-time drug users and pushers.
The confirmation of charges against the former president will be on September 23.
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